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(No Model.) 8 Sheets--Sheet 1.

F. E. D. AOLANDf L. SILVBRMAN 8; B. ORMAN. APPARATUS FOR FILLING CARTRIDGE FEED BELTs FOR MACHINE GUNS.

No. 536,691. Patented A r. 2,1895,

J 692 Ormw/ (No Model.) 8 Sheets-Sheet 2.

- F. 1+1. 11; ACLAND, L. SILVERMAN & B. ORMANQ APPARATUS FOR FILLING CARTRIDGE FEED BELTS FOR MACHINE GUNS.

No. 536,591. PatentedApr. Z, 1895.

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8 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

F. E. D. AOLAND, L. SILVERMAN 8: B. ORMAN. APPARATUS FOR FILLING CARTRIDGE FEED BELTS FOB MACHINE GUNS.

Patented Apr. 2, 1895.

(No Model.) s Sheefs-Sheet 4.

F. E. D. AOLAND, L. SILVERMAN & BORE/IAN. APPARATUS FOR FILLING CARTRIDGE FEED BELTS FOR MACHINE GUNS.

No. 536,591. Patented Apr. 2, 1895.

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I. E. D.- AGLAND, L. SILVERMAN & B. ORMAN. APPARATUSVFOR FILLING GARTRIDGE'FBED BELTSIOR MACHINE GUNS.

No. 536,591. Patented Apr. 2, 1895.

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A (No Model.) I 8 Sheets-Sheet 6.

F. E.-D.' AGLAND, L. SIL'VERM-ANK; B. ORMAN. I APPARATUS FOR FILLING CARTRIDGE FEED BELTS FOR MACHINE GUNS.

No. 536,591. Patenfed'Apr. 2. 1895.

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P. E. D. AOLANRL. SILVERMAN 81: B. ORIVIAN. APPARATUS FOR FILLING GARTRIDGE FEED BELTS FOR MACHINE GUNS.

NO. 536,591. Patented Apr. 2,1895.

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PE. D. AGLAND, L. SILVERMAN & B. ORMAN.

APPARATUS FOR FILLING CARTRIDGE FEED BELTS FOR MACHINE GUNS.

No. 536,591. Patented Apr. 2, 1895. Fig/0.

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FRANCIS 'E. D. AOLAND, OF LONDON, LOUIS SILVERMAN, OF ORAYFORD,

AND BENJAMIN ORMAN, OF DARTFORD, ASSIGNORS TO THE MAXEM- NOEDENFELT GUNS AND AMMUNITION COMPANY, LIMITED, OF LONDON,

ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR FILLING CARTRIDGE FEED-BELTS FOR MACHINE-GUNS.

SEECIFICATION forming part of Letters .Patent No. 586,591, dated April 2 1895. Application filed May 18, 1892- Beriel No. 433,437. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, FRANCIS EDWARD DYKE ACLAND, late captain royal artillery, a resident of Victoria Street,Westminster, London, Louis SILVERMAN, engineer, a resident of Orayford, Kent, and BENJAMIN ORMAN, engineer, a resident of 'Dartford, Kent, England, subjects of the Queen'of Great Britain, have invented certain new and useful Improvements Relating to the Filling or Charging of Feed Belts or Bands for Supplying Guns with Cartridges and to Apparatus Therefor, of which the following is a specification; referenoe being bad to the accompanying draw- This invention has reference to improvements relating to the filling or charging of feed belts or bands for supplying guns with cartridges and to apparatus therefor.

Such belts or hands are usually made of two strips or webs of canvas or similar material, firmly united at intervals in such manner as to leave apertures between the strips or webs for the reception of the cartridges Heretofore these belts or bands have been filled or charged by taking up the cartridges by hand, one byone, and pushing them sucoessively into the ap rture in the belt or band. This is a very tedious process, chiefly by reason of the difiiculty of separating the two strips or webs of material to admit the cartridges. hioreover the belt or band cannot be conveniently held by one hand while the cartridges are inserted by the other hand, and consequently the filling or charging of the said cartridge belts has hitherto involved the expenditure of a considerable amount of time and labor.

The present invention resides in an improved automatic mechanism for giving the belt or band an intermittent movement between suitable guides, and, during each interval between the successive feed movements thereof, inserting a pin or pointed rod into one of the apertures in the belt or band to separate the two strips or webs thereof, and then withdrawing the said pin or pointed rod vis a view of part of from the said aperture and simultaneously inserting a cartridge therein,

The said machine for the purpose above specified will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, i1i which.-:

Figure 1 is a side elevation oftheprincipal parts of the said machine. Fig.1 is a central vertical section of the same on line'a=--a of Fig. 2. Fig. 2is a top plan view of the. rrn echanism of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an end View of Fig. I viewed from the right hand script the same. Fig. '3 is asectional view taken.

on line 'i in Fig. 2. Fig. t is an eleva 6o tion of the machine viewed from the opposite side to that which is shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an -elevation of a cartridge hopper forming part of the machine and hereinafter more particularly described. Fig. 6 ice plan of-Fi'g. 5.- Fig. 7 is a vertical section-on the line its-(B of Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is a' sectional plan bu the liney-yof Fig. 5. Fig. 9 is an' under side view of an alternative form'oi? machine, and Fig. 10 is'an end view of Fig. 9. Fig. L1

Fig. 10 inanother position. A is the body of the machine. A is an extension therefrom in which the screw B is mounted, so that the machine may be clamped to any convenient support adapted to be engaged between the head B of the screw andthe portion A of the body of the machine.

0 is a bar which slides endwise in hearings in the body A. i T

D is ahandle fixed to ashort shaft Ewhich turns in a hearing A provided upon the body of the machine. F is a crank connected at; one end to the said short shaft E and at the opposite end to the bar 0 by the conhecting 85 rod G. 1. T K

H is a pointed rod secured to-cne end of the bar 0 in such a manner that the greater por-, tion of its length lies parallel theretoand I is a push piece secured to. the opposite imag thereof. The former is for the purposebf separating the two straps or webs of the cartridge belt or band, andthe latter for pushing cartridges into the-apertures so formed;

J is a spindle which turns in hearings in r the upper part of the body A. K is a ratchet wheeland L is a collar, both of which are firmly secured to the said spindle. M and N are wheelswhich in the present instance are formed in one piece with the collar L, the said wheels being provided with teeth M and N respectively, to gear with the cartridges in a manner hereinafter explained '10 as they are placed in the belt. The spaces between the teeth M are made wider than those between the teeth N inorder to receive tags which project from one side of the cartridge belts .used with the Maxim gun, for example.

Q is a pawl, jointed at O to one end of a lever'P. The said lever turns-upon afulcrnm screw'Q on the body A and carries at its op- 'posite end an antifriction rollerP which runs zd'oh the under side of the bar 0 and in a suit aply shaped groove C formed therein. "The said pawl O engages with the ratchet wheel K, and is maintained in engagement thereiwith by the spring 0 which is secured at one end'to the pawl, and at the other end to the bodyA. Q Q" are parallel guides grooved as at Q to receive the opposite ends of the cartridges, as shown inFig. 4. R is a channel between the said guides through which the cartridge-belt or band passes, below a bridge piece S. The bottom ofthe; channel is cn-rved at the ends as'show'n at R R so that the cartridge belt orb'and mayenter and leave the '-l.ld channel easily.

' R isaraised portionpf the'floor of the channel, provide'd at the end thereof at which the cartridge belt or band enters, so that the -space between the door of the channel and the 540 under side of the bridge-piece S is narrowed for-a purpose to be hereinafter explained.- T is'a cartridge belt or band andjl" are the cartridges. I v

U is the hopper from which cartridges are delivered to the belt charging mechanism in amannerwhich will be herein explained. The

said hopper has curved and'inclined sides so that when cartridges are dropped into it they will gravitate to the exit orifice .U' which is =o of such dimensions theta cartridge can only pass therethrough when its rim is above the notches U The hopper is supported by a standard V provided with flanges V which extend to 5 within a short distance of the bottom of the standard and are undercnt- 0r grooved as shown at V in line with the notches U to receive the rimsof cartridges which pass through the opening U. .At the foot of the said standard Y is a tray \V with side ,walls The said tray is slotted at W as shown, and is provided with a circular opening at its rear and with a lateral extension W? by which the standard Y and its appurtenances are secured to the machine.

' ward. The lowermost cartridge comes to rest The operation of the said machine will now' be explained.

The end of the cartridge belt or band is passed by hand into the'channel Rat R and below the bridge-piece S, between which and the bottom of the raised portion R of the channel the belt fits with sufficient tightness to prevent it from slipping back. The first loop or aperture between the two strips or webs of the cartridge-belt or band is brought by hand into line. with the pointed rod H,

which, by moving the bar 0 by means of the handle D, crank F and connecting rod G, is forced into the said loop. The hopper'U is now charged. with cartridges, which fall successively through the opening U therims ot the cartridges passing through the notches U into the grooves V in which they slide down- 7 v in the tray, Wand opposite the circular open- 8 i-ng thereof with its rim clear of the flanges V. In this position the said lowermost cartridge is in front of the push piece I, which when the pointed rod His rig-ht home in a loop of the cartridge belt isalways clear of the standard V and the cartridges therein. If

.now the movement of the crank be continued the bar 0 will be moved to cause the push piece I to enter the tray W by the said circular orifice and force the lowerm'ostcartridge 5 before it into the loop of the cartridge belt, the movement of the said bar simultaneously withdrawing the pointed rod 11 from theloop.

In the drawings the bar 0 is shown at half stroke and in Fig. 1 the pointed rod H-is in: {co the position it would occupy when Withdraw. ing from a loop of the belt while the-push piece I forces-a. cartridge therein-to. The cartridge next above the lowermost one hears upon the top of the push piece I as shown, while that push piece is moving toward the belt, and when the push piece has completed its return movement away from the belt,drops down in front of the said push piece, by which it is in turn moved forward, and so on.

The movement ol the cartridge belt, i'n order to bring loops thereof successively into line with the pointed rodH and push piece I, isetfected automatically, in the following manner: When a. cartridge is inserted in thebelt its opposite ends lie between-the teeth of the wheels M and N as shown in Fig. 4, and, during the time that the pointed rod ll moves toward the said wheels from its'extreme position, the action of the inclined portion of the r 20 groove C on the antifriction roller P moves,

the leverl and thereby causes the pawl O to rotate the ratchet wheel K and with it the spindle J and'the wheels M and N. The teeth of the wheels M and Nactupon the cartridge which lies between them and move the belt-a sufficient distance to bring the next loop thereof into position to receive a cartridge. The frictional resistance to the movement of the belt in the narrow channel below the lbridge piece S enables the wheels M and N to keep thebelt taut and maintain it at the proper level in the channel R. The inclined groove C is so situated upon the bar. that movement of the lever P, and consequently of the spindle 5, ceases when the head of the pointed rod ll arrives within-a short distance of the wheel hi. When the pointed rod H is withdrawn from the cartridge belt to its extreme position, theantifriction roller 1 rises into the groove C and causes the lever P and pawl K to move into position in readiness to be again operated in the manner abovedescribed. The direction of the movement of the feed belt is indicated by the'arrows inFig. 3. y

We wish it to be clearly understood that we do not limit ourselves to the particular form of themachine'hereinbefore described with referenceto the drawings. By way of examples-the bar Q may be operated byrneansbf a lever instead of by a crank and connecting rod. Cartridges may be placed in thetray W by hand if desired, but the employment of a hopper preferable.

instead of the bridge piece S a spring arm may be used for keeping taut thebelt during the insertion therein of the pin or pointed rod and or the cartridge. This arm is so arranged that it will yield to permit the feeding of the belt as required. p

In Figs. 9, and 11 an alternativeform of machine is shown, wherein the feeding of the belt through the machine is effected by means of the pointed rod which oponsput the spaces in the belt to receive the cartridges. On the end of the earl? opposite the push piece is rigidlysecured a link C which is inturn attached to'a rod S by means of a collar. The said rodC is arranged to slide endwise in bearings A and is also capable of rotation on its axis in the said bearings. To the end of the rod 0 is secured a short arm H which carries thepointed rodtH'for opening the belt.

C is-a pin-tightly secured in the 'bar approximately at right angles thereto.

- A A are projecting parts of or p eces firmly secured tothe frame A. and provided with grooves a, a in which theends c 0" 'of the pin 0. can slide.'-' -At the end of the said parts A A are formed or' fnred two cam pieces A A inclined surfaces at a as the cartridge belt passes of feed wheels provided with shown.- I I A Xis a serrated retaining pawl having a groove X on the'face over which the cartridge beltiis passed and which is attached by a strong spring X to the base A. Another spring X is arranged to press the belt on the top or grooved face of the said pawl X and thus to retain the said belt in position level withthe rod Hi.

A hopper of similar pattern to that herein before described is shown in place in Fig. 10. Theoperation of this form of machine is as follows: The cartridge belt is passed between the spring X and tliepawl X, and is adjusted by handto bring thefirst loop opposite to the pointed rod H, the latter having been moved to its rearmost position clear of the belt. The short arm 11 is t'henin the position shown-in Fig; 10 and the end 0 of the rod 0 is opposite the end of the groove a of the piece A The hopper isnow charged with cartridges and the handle D rotated causing the rod H to enter and open out the loop in the belt. \Vhen the bar C is nearlyat the end of its stroke the end a of the rod 0 strikes the'inclined surface a of the cam piece A and rotates-the bar 0 on its axis till the end c of the rod G is opposite the groove a of the piece A. This rotary movement causes the link H to take the position shown in Fig. 11 thus feeding the belt on into position for the cartridge to be inserted. Onthe rotation of the handle being continued, thepointed rod H is withdrawn fromthe belt and-a push piece arranged and operating in a manner similar to that described with reference tothe push-piece I in'Figx 1 closely follows the r rod' H andforces home a cartridge into the belt. When the bar 0 has nearly reached the other end of its stroke-and thefcartridge is nearly home the transverse rod 0 strikes the inclined part a of the cam piece A and this rotates the rod 0 backward until the pin H is brought in line with the .pawl X again. As the handle is further rotated the pin H enters the next loop of the belt, opensit and feeds the belt on for the next-Tcartridge tobe forced in. y The machine may beoperat'ed either by hand or by'steam or other power as may be most suitable.. H

1 What we clai'm.is

1. In a machine for filling cartridge belts, the combination with guides between which the cartridge-belt passes, of a rod supported and movable at right angles to the said guides j and adapted in its movement to enter between the two webs'of the said-belt to open the same,

, a push piece movableinline with the said rod: for'forcing the cartridges into the belt, and mechanism for giving the belt an intermittent movement through the guides, as set forth. V

2. In a machine for filling cartridge-belts the combination with guides between which notched or toothed to engage with the cartridges .in the said belt, a ratchet-wheel adapted to rotate with the said feed-wheels, a pawl by which the said ratchet-wheel is operated, carried upon'a lever and a reciprocating bar formed with an inclined surface whereby; the said lever is vibrated, substanhavingan opening U conforming to the shape of the cartridges, and {L standard Vgrooved at V to receive the rims of th stantially as described.

4. In a machine for filling cartridge belts the combination with the guides Q, the raised portion R of the floor of the channel R and the bridge piece S substantially as hereinbefore described for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto E0 signed our names in the presence of two sube cartridges sub- 5 scribing witnesses.

F. E. D. ACLAND.

LOUIS SILVERMAN.

BENJAMIN ORMAN. Vitnesses:

C. A. SEARLE, V JOHN-G. SHIELDS. 

